Robotech: Crossings
by Shadow Chaser
Summary: A short story, on Roy Fokker's perspective after his death...and how he reacts to the others reacting to his death.


Robotech: Crossings

Robotech: Crossings

By: Shadow Chaser

__

Roy heard Claudia, far away, and wanted to answer but couldn't. He didn't know how he'd forgotten, but there was a mission he had to fly…

He could hold Claudia to him and never let her go.

The fighters climbed, and the sky became lighter instead of darker, and then impossibly bright. With his squadron arrayed behind him, Roy Fokker zoomed straight into the center of the white light… - paraphrasing quote from Homecoming, of the Robotech Series, by: Jack McKinney

***

Roy cruised into the light, then stopped, pulling his VT up short in its Guardian mode. He glanced around, the white light surrounding him. He couldn't see anything; not even Kramer or Pop was there. "Where am I?" he whispered, then winced as his voice bounced harshly all around him. "Hello?" he tried again, this time softer.

"Welcome home Roy…its been a long time," a voice said behind him, the voice echoing weirdly.

Roy suddenly found himself, not in the cockpit of the sleek Veritech fighter/mecha, but standing…on nothing. He stared at the white endless ground that his feet were planted on and had a feeling of vertigo wash over him. _Steady…_he forced himself to push away the queasy feeling then turned to face the speaker.

"Pop?!"

***

(_interlude of Claudia Grant and Rick Hunter getting news of Roy's death_)

***

Roy couldn't believe his eyes. Pop Hunter, Rick's father, was standing in front of him, alive! No…it couldn't be, the reports had said that Pop had died…

"Roy…"

"No," Roy flinched away as Pop extended a semi-transparent hand, "you're dead…the reports said that you died."

"Roy."

"No! Didn't you hear me? Let me out!"

"Lieutenant Commander Fokker! Ten-hut!" Pop commanded harshly and Roy snapped to attention, his body responding before his mind could instill the fact of trying not to listen to a spirit.

"Fokker, reporting as ordered," Roy said evenly then willed his body to relax. He couldn't let this nightmare get to him.

"Roy…I am dead-"

"Then why are you here, Pop?"

"Because…"

Roy stiffened as he heard Pop Hunter's next words.

"You're also dead…"

***

"You're also dead…"

He looked at the semi-transparent form of Pop Hunter in disbelief. "I'm…dead…" The words sounded so dull to him, so…unnatural. Where was he anyway? He remembered being in Claudia's quarters, him strumming on his guitar, she fixing a pineapple salad. He remembered that he didn't feel well, he knew that he loss some blood, but…

"Its that bad Tiger," Pop interjected, then waved his hand and Roy found himself in a medical room, vaguely familiar until he saw Claudia. _Wait…_he thought to himself; she was crying, a doctor was shaking his head sadly. The doctor spoke a few words then left her and Roy watched as Claudia dropped to the floor of the medical room and buried her head into a white sheet, on top of a body…his body.

"That's…"

"Yes, Roy, that's you. You died of massive internal hemorrhaging and you lost too much blood," a new voice joined them and Roy turned to see Kramer, who had died during the battle, wearing his uniform, a neutral expression on his face.

He returned his gaze back to Claudia and his heart and lungs were being squeezed too tightly. It hurt to breathe…it hurt to see his lover like this. She looked so…Roy walked over to her and reached down to squeeze her hand in reassurance, but passed right through. His eyes widened as he saw his left hand passing through her shoulder and turned back to Pop and Kramer. "What the…"

"You're a spirit now…you can't touch the material world, Roy…I'm sorry-" Pop started apologetically but Roy felt anger growing within him.

"I don't care if you're sorry," he growled at them then stalked away, passing through the door that was still sealed. He had to be alone. _God…I can't even touch Claudia again…_

***

Roy didn't care where his wanderings took him. He didn't care that he was passing through people, and didn't care that they didn't notice his spiritual presence. The only thing he cared about was his Little Brother, and his lover, Claudia. How could he do it? How could he just follow Kramer and Pop with his sleek Veritech? How could he have not known the warning signs of death at his door? How could he not have summoned the strength to answer Claudia? How could he have been so stupid to leave the medical facility, even though he wanted to be with Claudia?

It was a surprise, to him, that he found himself in Rick's quarters, all the lights turned off, except for a dim glow coming from a small walkway light to the bathroom station in Rick's medical quarters. Roy stood dumbly for a minute, wondering why did he come here, then a small yellow object drew his gaze to Rick's curled hands, clutched to his chest, rising and falling rhythmically as he slept.

__

"Fokker, Little Brother, that's me!"

The yellow World War I German Fokker was resting comfortably in Rick Hunter's grip, a child's grip when something they have, they don't want it to be taken away. "Little Brother…" Roy whispered softly, smiling down at his adoptive brother whose face had tear streaks on it. He realized that Rick had cried himself to sleep, even though he was twenty-years-old. Roy understood all right…he knew that his death had to be very hard on Rick. _Rick was one of the two people I could have called family…I was both Claudia and Rick's support…now I'm gone…_

"Big…Brother," Rick moaned slightly in his sleep.

"Shh…don't speak…" Roy gently, or at least tried to, pat Rick's shoulder. He knew that Rick couldn't hear him, but he wished that he could. He wanted to talk to his Little Brother again…

"Roy…?" Rick suddenly blinked open his bleary eyes and stared directly into Roy's green ones. "Roy!" Rick suddenly whispered, "no…are you…"

"Rick? Can you see me?" Roy blinked in surprise at the turn of events, then realized that Rick might be suffering from a concussion or something from his recent injuries.

"Big Brother…are you…"

"Yes…I'm…dead," Roy finally admitted, then hung his head shamefully, "I'm sorry…"

"Don't be…Big Brother…we all…make mistakes," Rick laughed faintly and Roy could see that when Rick really woke up, it would be a dream to him. But he had to get a message out to his Little Brother before anything happened.

"Rick…I have to go," Roy started, then felt something tugging at him but he resisted it, "Rick…tell Claudia to keep her spirits up, tell her that I will be waiting for her! I'll see you later!" He felt the tugging force increase until a wash of white light blinded his eyes and he closed them, waiting for the light to die down…but it didn't for a long time.

***

He knew he couldn't see with the white light in front of his eyes, blinding him, but within his mind, or whatever he had left of it since his real brain was in a coffin of some sort, he could see a raging space battle on the orbit of the Earth. He saw Khyron's forces diving towards the Earth then SDF-2 exploding…SDF-1 taking a severe nose-dive into the planet. Only one escape pod flew out of the dying SDF-1 and Roy sensed that it was Lisa Hayes on the pod. Her spirit was crying out in pain and anger, but there was some hopefulness within that pain.

Suddenly the light flashed away, leaving him in a field of dirt and chunks of metal and concrete. In the distance, he saw SDF-1, buried at an angle that the command part of the massive fortress was crushed, surely no one could have survived…

"Roy!" a voice he had not heard for a long time shouted and he turned to see Claudia running towards him her arms outstretched.

Roy caught her in a hug and kissed her gently on her lips before releasing her, but held her close to him. It felt good to have her here with him… "Wait…if you're here…and I can touch you…"

"The SDF-1 crashed and only one escape pod was available, Commander Fokker. So we packed Lisa into it; we had no one else to return to and we knew that she had someone special, if that dumb Hunter could pick up the signs by now," one of the notorious Terrible Trio, Vanessa, said as Roy glanced up to see Gloval, the Terrible Trio, Kramer, Ben, and Pop all standing in a group, smiles on their faces.

"So…you guys…"

"Yes, love. We're together forever…we've crossed," Claudia Grant smiled as Roy stared down at her, a roguish smile on his face.

"Crossing…" he whispered as he kissed her again, this time not breaking away.

***

****

Author's Notes:

I've only read the Robotech novels, and this idea kept poking at me, until I had to write it down. Well, this is my first Robotech fic, and I don't know if there are going to be more. Anyhow, I love Robotech and its complex characters…maybe I'll write a secondary story after I'm finished with the Sentinel Series, spin-off from Robotech. Thanks and don't forget to review! Robotech does not belong to me, they belong to whomever they belong to. I am only using the characters as a fan fiction, and do not make profit off of this work.


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